The skill of downhill skiing is achieved by combining the appropriate posture, orientation and balance of the different quadrants of the body in accordance with the terrain and maneuver at hand. Ideally the shoulders, hips and skis are maneuvered fairly independently when skiing. Improved results in training or assisting downhill skiers are obtained when the trainee derives these skills experientially, without intrusive interference from an instructor. The present disclosure primarily concerns a method and device for training novice skiers which leaves their upper body free, to encourage them to independently find their appropriate balance, while offering an instructing skier some degree of influence over the trainee skier's direction, speed and balance development.
As used herein, the term “trainee” is a skier who is fitted with a ski training device, for example, to allow another person to teach, train, assist or guide that skier in skiing. The trainee can be, for example, a beginner or student skier, a child or an adult, a capable skier attempting more difficult conditions or steeper terrain than they are accustomed to, or a physically handicapped or disabled skier. As used herein the term “instructor” refers to a person who is assisting a trainee, and can include, for example, a ski instructor or guide, a parent or ski partner. The instructor need not be a professional ski instructor; however, preferably the instructor is a competent skier with an understanding of proper ski technique. The instructor is typically also on skis, although in some situations the instructor can use the present device and method while on foot or on a snowboard or other suitable device.
Of the various patented and/or commercially available downhill ski training devices and associated methods, the present invention probably has most similarities with ski harnesses via which a trainee is connected to an instructor. Most commercially available ski harnesses are of the torso kind, by which an instructor directly manipulates the bearer's torso. The steering control provided by these torso harnesses is minimal and difficult to impart, and they also have the intrinsic characteristic of tending to urge the skier's upper body backwards when the instructor pulls on the harness to steer or control speed, which interferes with training or assisting trainees. Examples of torso harnesses are products marketed by Lucky Bums, RC Products and Kuu as well as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,424,040; 4,509,921; and 5,074,795. U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,681 describes a device involving tethering at the ankles without providing individual or separate control over them, making direct steering fundamentally unattainable.
In contrast to commonly-used devices and methods, use of the present device does not involve applying forces directly to the trainee's upper body which tends to disrupt their balance, but rather allows an instructor to aid a trainee in determining and adopting the correct stance and balance for the maneuver and terrain at hand.
The instructor can evaluate the terrain, meteorological conditions and skill level of the trainee in order to select the appropriate embodiment of the present disclosure to be used with the trainee. Three preferred embodiments grant an instructor the option of tethering a trainee with reins at one of three paired points: the ankles, the ski tips, or the ski tips via ski tip handles, while the trainee's ski tips can be coupled together to limit their relative motion. Thus, an instructor can independently manipulate the appropriate pair of tethering points directly, thereby assisting the trainee with simple turns, speed control and independent balance development without adversely disrupting the motion or position of the trainee's upper body.